That's right and that's all: three degrees of separation!
It goes:
Me
Dee Dee Smith
Beatrice Rutman (deceased)
Her boy, Bobby Zimmerman.
Bob Dylan's mom died in 2000, and Dylan, who seldom responds so clearly to a loss, wrote "set my dial on the radio, wish my mother was still alive" in 2001 on "Lonesome Boy Blues".
I am in the advertising business and my friend Dee Dee Smith was my sales rep in Minneapolis. We did business together for over a decade and were close friends though I only met her once in person. When Dede wasn't fighting with me about prices, she was a happy housewife in the wilds of Minnesota AND next door neighbors with Dylan's Mom with whom she was friends.
Beatrice was a very sweet and normal sort of person, according to Dee Dee, and her son was very sweet and loving towards his Mommy.She saw them together several times and if you didn't know Dylan was Dylan, the relationship was very affectionate like any mother and son. Compare this to Dylan's reported relationship with his own children, read some of Jakob's interviews about his absentee papa, and it makes you wonder why the difference. My bet, even to his children Dylan is Dylan, but to his parents, they knew him before he was Dylan, and what ever genius is there in the Dylan guise, Bobby would have always remained less elusive to his folks.
One Christmas Dee Dee asked me what I wanted as a gift and the pix is what I got.
As for the George Jones below? That's another post entirely…
